Concept: A comprehensive idea or generalization that brings diverse elements into some basic relationship.
Composition and Design: The arrangement of the visible elements or parts of a work of art. Often used interchangeably to refer to the organization of elements. Composition implies the assemblage of existing parts. Design suggests a more intentional arrangement, often to a point.
Form: The total interrelationship of the elements in a work of art.
Content: Material that has meaning, shaped by an artist’s concept or intent, and expressed in symbolic, abstract and concrete form.
Unity: The whole or total effect of a work of art that results from the combination of all of its component parts. Typically, a unified work is one in which the elements all work harmoniously together in support of the concept.
Proportion: There is a comparative fitness in the interrelationship of parts.
Scale: The proportional relationship among parts.
Contrast: Change of stress and accent or emphasis to set off elements against each other.
Sequence: Change or movement producing a progression; rhythmic tensions and transitions between linear and spatial movements.
Harmony: The adaptation of parts to one another so as to form a coherent whole.
Rhythm: Regular recurrence or alteration in sequence.
Balance: The equilibrium of all forces involved.
Distortion: Any change made by an artist in the size, position or general character of forms relative to how they normally appear. Almost all art necessarily involves a degree of distortion, simply through the process of artistic selection.
Texture: The surface feel of an object or the representation of surface character.
Size: The extent of a shape, or length of a line.
Shape: The specific spatial character of an area or line.
Volume: A shape having three dimensions or one that gives the illusion of solidity or mass.
Linear or lineal: Usually used interchangeably, pertaining to a line. All lines are linear.
Curvilinear: Stressing the use of curved lines as opposed to rectilinear, which stresses straight lines.
Outline: The demarcation between one area and the next, or the edge of a shape.
Contour: The outline or edge, and those lines that move across a shape or volume.
Attitude: Position or posture of a shape or line, its directional quality if it has one.
Amorphous: Without clarity of definition; formless; indistinct and of uncertain dimensions.
Biomorphic shapes: Shapes that are irregular in form and resemble the freely developed curves found in organic life.
Abstract: Applies to painting in that certain aspects of recognizable objects are retained and others dispensed with. The selectivity of representation necessarily implies some level of abstraction.
Representational: Applies to all types of painting that deal with objects in terms of their visual appearance, which need not necessarily be painted “from nature” and may be handled creatively and expressively to a high degree.
Pictorial: Of or pertaining to pictures and in a critical sense material that especially lends itself to pictorial treatment.
Naturalistic: Painting that copies the superficial facts and the chaos of nature as seen by the physical eye, without organization into the artist’s expression and design. Nature provides the picture.
Decorative: Designed to please by harmonious adaptation of pattern, line, color, rhythm, etc. Work bears restrictions such as space, position, length, etc. Sometimes used as disparagement suggesting the work has little depth and character.
Ornamental: That which fulfills no useful purpose but exists solely to embellish, adorn, or decorate.
Spectrum: The band of individual colors that results when a beam of light is broken up into its component hues.
Color: The character of a surface that is the result of the response of vision to the wavelength of light reflected from that surface.
Hue: This designates the common name of a color and indicates its position in the spectrum or in the color circle. Hue is determined by the specific wavelength of the color in the ray of light.
Intensity (chroma): The saturation or strength of a color determined by the quality of light reflected from it. A vivid color is of high intensity, a dull color of low intensity.
Tone (color): A term used in a general way to include the factors of hue, value, and intensity.
Value: The characteristic of a color in terms of the amount of light reflected from it. It refers to the lightness or darkness of tone, not to its color quality. There are an infinite number of variations in value between white and black, but a scale of 7 equal gradations is useful, named High Light, Light, Low Light, Middle, High Dark, Dark, and Low Dark.
Tint: A hue at a lighter value than the one at which it appears at greatest intensity, i.e., a color with white added.
Shade (color): A hue at a darker value than the one at which it appears at greatest intensity, i.e., a color with black added.
Neutralized color: A color that has been grayed or reduced in intensity by mixture with any of the neutrals or with a complementary color.
Local Color: The color of an object, regardless of the color it may appear to be due to illumination under given circumstances.
Objective color: The naturalistic color of an object as seen by the eye.
Subjective color: Colors chosen by the artist without regard to the natural appearance of the object portrayed. They have nothing to do with objective reality but represent the expression of the individual artist.
Tone (light): The character of a color or value of a surface determined by the amount or quality of light reflected from it. The kind of light reflected may be determined by the character of the medium that has been applied to the surface.
High Light: The reflection upon the surface of an object of the source of light. It is generally located where the surface of the object is at right angles to the direction from which the light is coming. The smoother the surface, the more distinct will be the high light, (Not to be confused with the term “High Light” in the Value Scale).
Half tone: In representational painting the tone of the area on the surface of an object between the lighted side and the shaded side of the object. It is generally that portion of the surface that is parallel with the direction from which the light is coming.
Shade (light): The tone of that area of an object that is turned away from the source of light and is thus deprived of direct light.
Reflected Light: The phenomenon of slight illumination within the shade of an object from light rebounding from nearby surfaces receiving light. Bounce.
Shadow: The tone produced upon a surface when light upon it is obscured by an object. Also called “cast shadow.” It is generally colder and more opaque than shade. Reflected lights may occur within cast shadow as well as in shade, but are likely to be less noticeable.
Modeling: The effect of revealing three-dimensional form through use of light, either real or suggested through color or other technique.
Chiaroscuro: An Italian word, literally “light – dark”, a term applied to extravagantly contrasted light and shade effects of late Renaissance painting.
Grisaille: Painting in grays, representing light and shade.
Tactile: In painting or sculpture, appealing to a sense of touch.
Pigment: Any material or medium used by the artist to create the effect of color on a surface. Specifically, animal, vegetable, or mineral material, generally in the form of finely ground powder, which provides the color.
Binder: Organic or synthetic product that works in solution to make the pigment adhere to the paint object.
Vehicle or Medium: The liquid with which the pigment is mixed. Generally it is or contains the binder. Media fall into three major divisions: those mixing with water, those mixing with oil, and emulsions, which are a compromise between oil and water.
Size: A dilute binder applied to a porous surface to make it less porous.
Fixative: A thin binder blown upon surfaces treated with chalk, pastel, or charcoal, to preserve the surface.
Primer: A mixture applied to a canvas or other material as a first or under coat to fill up the pores and make a smooth surface.
Gesso: A mixture of a chalk-like substance with a glue-like binder, may be used as a primer, or as an undercoat. It may be tooled or carved.
